


Let Us Start the Game

by RobinsSpell



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-11 11:17:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11713293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsSpell/pseuds/RobinsSpell
Summary: A gift to his daughter from a mysterious man brings Akira Kurusu and his friends back down memory lane as they relive their days as the Phantom Thieves through a strange game. Crossposted from ff.net.





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Dad, can we get that new game console we talked about soon?"

The sun had set and the moon was shining brightly in the sky as a father and his teenaged daughter walked home from the girl's school festival. The man stood a full head taller than his daughter, his height and distinctly frizzy hair made it easy to pick him out in a crowd. Decades ago, he was the leader of the mysterious Phantom Thieves of Heart, a group of vigilantes that took justice into their own hands when innocent lives were at stake, fighting injustice with their Personas, their rebellious spirits made manifest. These days, Akira Kurusu was a successful defense attorney, a loving husband to the love of his life, Police Commissioner Makoto Niijima, and a doting father to their only child, Kogo. Akira's daughter was the spitting image of her mother during her high school days, only with her father's black hair and a red hairband as opposed to her mother's chestnut brown hair and hairband. She had a very elegant and mature sense of style and was just as academically inclined as her mother, but she also had her father's strong sense of justice and his cocky devil-may-care attitude.

"Hmm, I dunno, how have your grades been?" Akira asked his daughter with a smirk. It was a rhetorical question, as he already knew his daughter was at the top of her class and spent some time during the festival beaming at her place at the top of the exam score ranking.

"Dad, they're just fine!" Kogo rolled her eyes and giggled. "Besides, I saw you looking at my exam scores earlier, you don't need to ask."

Akira cocked an eyebrow at the girl. "You saw that? I must be getting old if I didn't notice you in that empty hallway."

"Hee hee, or maybe I'm just that good at hiding!"

Grinning, Akira ruffled his daughter's hair. "Heh, you probably get that from me. When we were your age, your mother was awful at sneaking around. Oh, don't tell her I said that, you know how she gets when she's embarassed."

"Really? Wait, why do you know that?" Kogo looked at her father expectantly. She always loved hearing about her parents' lives and was eager to learn more about them.

"Oh, I never told you about how your mother and I met, have I?" Akira looked up in thought. "Maybe we should wait on this story for just a bit, until we get home and we can talk about it with your mother?"

"Aww, alright." Kogo pouted. "I wish Mom could've come tonight too, I bet she would've loved the Sharing Special."

"Haha, do you think so?" Akira started smirking again. "I remember the one time your mother and I went to the Sharing Special together. I think she's still incredibly embarrassed about it."

"Okay, you haaaave to tell me about it! Pleeeeaaaase?"

"Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves, you wouldn't want to miss out on Mom's reaction to that, would you?"

"Hmm, I guess not." Kogo devilishly pressed a finger to her lip. She and her father both enjoyed teasing her mother, much to the woman's chagrin. Makoto eventually learned to take it in stride, however, and managed to get back at her family from time to time.

"So why the interest in the game console all of a sudden?" The two had reached their home in Aoyama and Akira had begun fishing around for his keys.

"Oh, right! I walked by a strange booth at the festival earlier today and a man with a really long nose gave me a game."

Finding his keys, Akira was in the middle of unlocking the door when he suddenly stopped and turned to Kogo. "A really long nose? Was this man balding, by any chance? And was his booth blue?"

"Yeah! And he had a speaker playing really soothing piano music, too! How did you know?"

"...Call it a hunch. This has to do with how I met your mother, so I'll tell you soon." Akira unlocked the door and ushered his daughter in. "So what kind of game did he give you?"

"It's an RPG, I think, but I've never heard of it before." Kogo took her shoes off and started digging through her bag.

"Akira? Kogo? Is that you?" A soft, yet commanding voice called out from the kitchen.

"It's us! We're home, Makoto!" Akira called back, making his way to his wife. She was hard at work in the kitchen, cutting dough, still in her work clothes. Akira reasoned that she had arrived home not long before he had and gave her a kiss. "Are you making donuts again?"

"Yes, I am. I wanted to make it up to Kogo for missing the last day of the festival and I know how much she loves my donuts." Makoto resumed her kneading a little more eagerly, now that she was in the company of her family.

"Ah ha! I found it!" Cheered Kogo, who slowly followed her father into the kitchen. "Hi Mom, I missed you!" She gave her mother a hug.

"Hello, Kogo. I missed you too." Makoto turned and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "What's that in your hand?" She looked quizzically at the box her daughter was holding.

"Someone at the festival gave this to me. It's a game called Persona 5." Kogo held up the box for her parents.

"Persona..?" Akira and Makoto said in unison, looking at each other with slightly confused expressions. "She can't mean that, right?" Makoto looked slightly concerned; she was also a former Phantom Thief, so she also had a Persona back in her heyday and was shocked to hear the word again after so long.

"You guys, that's not even the weird thing about this, look at the cover!" Kogo pointed at the bottom-center of the box - right at a very familiar face.

Akira looked and was taken aback. "Hey, that's... me!" He grabbed the box out of Kogo's hand to inspect it closer. "And that's Futaba, Yusuke, Ann, Morgana, Ryuji, Haru - and look, even you, Makoto!"

Makoto stared, wide-eyed. "Wh-what is this? Those characters look just like us!" Makoto stopped kneading again to look closer. "Is that Akechi? And Arsene?"

"Akechi? Who's that? I recognized my aunts and uncles from the box, but did you say our cat's on there too?" Kogo asked in confusion. "And who's Arsene?"

Akira flipped the box over to read the back. "We're here to take your heart... A group of high school students are out to reform Tokyo society. Troubled by the deception and hypocrisy all around them, these Phantom Thieves will steal into the hearts of people and confront the problem from the inside out..."

"Phantom Thieves!?" cried Makoto. "I don't believe it, what is this?" The brunette was getting more and more unnerved by the second.

Akira continued. "Spend the days as a normal student: go to school, hang out with friends, hold a part time job... After school, enter the 'Palaces' of people's hearts and root out the evil within... Your bonds are your power as 'Confidants' provide you strength and aid in battle and beyond..." He finished reading and flipped the box over again. "Well I'll be damned, Igor. You've certainly outdone yourself this time..." He mumbled to himself.

"Mom? Dad?" Kogo was really confused now. "Why are you two acting like this?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest." Makoto started to regain her composure. "I don't suppose we've ever talked about how your father and I met, have we?"

"Dad and I were just talking about that on our way home! But what does that have to do with this game?"

"I think this game'll tell you that story and more," said Akira, setting the box down. "You know, I was planning on telling you more about that, but I think I'll let this game do the talking," grinned Akira.

"Are you sure? What if it's dangerous?" asked Makoto.

"It's fine, I trust whoever gave this to Kogo." He

ruffled the girl's hair again. "Why don't you take this

upstairs and get ready for bed, then we can have some of

your mother's donuts before you go to sleep and tomorrow, I'll go out and pick up the console so we can play tomorrow night, okay?"

"Alright, Dad." Kogo nodded and made for her bedroom.

"How are you so sure it's safe?" Makoto returned to her dough and finished portioning her sweet treats.

"Do you remember that long nosed guy with the crazy eyes?" As she finished, Akira began foraging for a pot, a jug of oil, cocoa powder, and some powdered sugar.

"How could I forget?" said Makoto as he handed the powdered ingredients to her before heating up the oil.

"It sounds like Kogo met him earlier today." Leaving the oil to heat up, Akira walked to their fridge to find a bag of chocolate chips, a carton of oil, and a stick of butter.

"But you didn't?" Makoto gave him a skeptical look.

"No, but the way she described him hit all the right notes, so it's probably him." He began boiling some water in another pot, with a glass bowl on top filled with the chocolate chips.

"Well, alright, if you think it's safe. Should we tell the others?" Makoto began frying her donuts.

"Yeah, I'll bet they'd want to see this. I think everyone's in town for a little while, right?"

"Hmm, Ann has just returned from an American photoshoot, Ryuji is still the P.E. Teacher at Shujin, last I checked, Yusuke is not on tour right now and is overseeing his students, Futaba is always around, Haru is overseeing her cafes in Tokyo for the moment, and Morgana is sleeping peacefully in our living room." Makoto counted off each of their friends as she listed them.

"That's perfect. Wanna shoot them a message?" Akira began whisking the bowl of melted chocolate chips and butter over the pot of boiling water, stopping to pour in some cream partway through.

"Of course," Makoto pulled out her phone and began typing. "Hello... Akira and I were wondering if you were all free tomorrow night." She read her message aloud as she typed into the group chat they all shared. "Kogo found something interesting tonight at the school festival and we thought you guys would all like to see it." She set her phone aside to remove her last donuts from the pot to let them cool slightly.

"Are we frosting them tonight, or are we filling them?" Asked Akira, who took the molten chocolate off of the boiler and started walking towards one of the cupboards.

"Let's just do frosting tonight. It's late and I don't think Kogo wants to wait for the chocolate to cool so we can pipe it in."

"You got it," replied Akira, as he pulled out a small bowl and a container of sprinkles. He had just started pouring sprinkles into the bowl when his phone began buzzing, alerting him to messages in the group chat.

Ann: "Ooh, it's been so long! Of course I'm going!"

Ryuji: "Me too! I didn't have any plans for tomorrow anyway!"

Yusuke: "Of course. It will be delightful to see each everyone again."

Futaba: "Meehhhh."

Haru: "Oh, don't be like that, Futaba-chan. Aren't you interested in what Kogo found?"

Akira: "It's a game, Futaba."

Futaba: "A game? ＼(≧▽≦)／ Why didn't you say so? I'll be there! (✯◡✯)"

Yusuke: "That didn't take much convincing."

Futaba: "Shut it, Inari! (；￣Д￣)"

Ryuji: "A game? What kind?"

Ann: "This isn't something dumb, is it?"

Makoto: "I think you will all find this very interesting."

Akira: "Yeah, it definitely caught our attention when Kogo showed us."

Yusuke: "Intriguing. I shall be there."

Haru: "This sounds like fun! Are we meeting at your house, Akira?"

Akira: "Yup. Try to get here around 5? I'll make curry!"

Ryuji: "Ooh! I haven't had Akira's curry in ages! See you all at 5!"

Futaba: "Make lots! I hunger! (*¯︶¯*)"

Ann: "I'll have mine with lots of apples~"

Haru: "Shall I bring some coffee beans with me?"

Makoto: "Please do. We're down to our last bag."

"Mom, are the donuts ready?" Kogo called out as she walked back into the kitchen, ready for bed.

"Yes dear, we saved the best part for you." Makoto smiled and pulled a chair out for her daughter.

"Not too much now, let's save some for tomorrow." Said Akira as he sat down at the table. Taking one of the lumpier donuts, he dipped it in the frosting and he continued. "We invited your aunts and uncles over tomorrow so they could see the game too and we wouldn't want aunt Ann to get upset about missing your mother's donuts." He bit into his donut and smiled.

"Okay, Dad!" Kogo did likewise, making sure her donut was thoroughly covered in sprinkles before feasting. "Mom, your donuts are the best!"

"Thank you, sweetie." Makoto smiled. "You know, I first made donuts for your father at our first school festival together."

"Really?" The girl finished her last bite. "Do you think that'll be in the game?"

"Of course. I guarantee it." Winked Akira, as he began to frost the rest of the donuts. "Now, it's getting late, why don't you head to bed?"

"Okay then," Rising out of her seat, Kogo bid her parents a good night before returning to her room for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The former Thieves get together and begin the game, commenting on the game's flashy opening and title screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left a review or bookmarked, it means a lot to me that you'd take the time to check this out! I don't have a set schedule in stone, but I'll try my best to update at least once a week!

"Man, I'm so effin' jealous of you, Kogo! You get to have your dad's curry whenever you want!" exclaimed Tora Sakamoto as he visciously shoveled Akira's curry into his mouth.

"Oh stop, at least chew your food first!" Kogo sighed, shaking her head at her friend's poor manners. It had been ages since they'd had a big get together like this and she felt incredibly embarassed watching the boy wolf down his meal.

Dinner at the Kurusu household was a lively affair with the former Phantom Thieves together. Yusuke Kitagawa, now a revered artist and beloved mentor to a new generation of artists, was the first to arrive, eager to feast on his friend's specialty.

Soon after was Haru Okumura, CEO of the Okumura Foods conglomerate, who had taken great strides to restore her company's image after her late father's tenure. Alongside her was Futaba Sakura, who was working on a programming contract at her father's cafe, LeBlanc. Futaba had made a name for herself in the world of cyber security, putting her experience as a hacker to good use writing software to cover security holes that she herself would have gleefully taken advantage of years ago. Sojiro Sakura was retired now, but he couldn't bear to leave his shop in the hands of someone he didn't trust, so he sold the shop to Haru to keep the store running. Under her management, the store did about as well as it did when Sojiro ran the shop; that is, business was slow, but it had a healthy number of devoted customers that always appreciated a good cup of coffee, served alongside the best plate of curry around for miles. While it was a very tasty dish, it was not up to Sojiro's old standards; he was very tight-lipped about his signature recipe and refused to sign it over to Haru. Haru never took it personally, as she understood his desire to keep his secret recipe behind closed doors.

Ryuji Sakamoto and Ann Takamaki were the last to arrive, with their son Tora in tow. After high school, Ryuji worked a few odd jobs to help make ends meet before he ended up substituting for Shujin's track coach for a day. He had always loathed the thought of becoming a P.E. teacher - especially after his Freshman year of high school - but there was a sense of fulfillment from his short coaching stint that helped him forge his way in life. He surprised all of his friends by earning his teaching degree, keeping his natural hair color, and stepping up to the role of Shujin Acadamy's permanent P.E. teacher, where he could guide young minds and help shape them into better people.

Ann, on the other hand, had been making headlines with stunning fashion lines. Her time as a model had come to a close, but she had a keen sense for style and knew how to turn heads, so it was inevitable that she'd try her hand at design. She traveled often to promote her fashion lines or oversee photoshoots, but she always made sure she wouldn't be gone from home for more than a week every month. She and Ryuji were always close after the dissolution of the Phantom Thieves; Akira had always teased the two about getting together, so they decided to go on a double date with him and Makoto to prove to their friends that they wouldn't work as an item. Long story short, they proved otherwise.

Tora Sakamoto took mostly after his father, but he had his mother's natural blonde hair, which ironically made him look even more like his father during his teenage years. He was born about a year after Kogo, after his parents saw how happy Kogo's were after having her. They were a happy family, and because of how close their two families were, Kogo and Tora were like brother and sister and were almost inseparable.

"Indeed, I've missed the exquisite flavor of Akira's curry." Yusuke sighed elatedly. He was doing well for himself now and was no longer perpetually broke, but his fondness for LeBlanc's hearty curry never went away and he often found himself stopping by the cafe for a plate. Sojiro always treated him, even after the artist began making a living off of his craft.

"Are you sure you won't teach me the recipe? Curry sales aren't as good as they used to be when Sojiro was in charge." Haru set her spoon down and wiped her mouth.

"Are you kidding? Dad'll kill him if he told anyone! I don't even know how to make it!" Futaba had tried for years to convince Sojiro to teach her how to make his famous curry, but he never gave in. One day she had enough of trying to convince him and set out to make her own. 3000 yen and an exploded curry pot later, and Futaba learned why Sojiro didn't want to teach her his recipe.

"What about the donuts? Can you teach me your donut recipe, Makoto?" Ann asked, reaching for the plate of donuts.

"Didn't I just show you last month?" Makoto crossed her arms with a sigh. "Oh well, I'll be sure to drill it into you the next time you visit."

"Man Makoto, you don't have to be so scary," said Ryuji. "So what's the big thing you wanted to show us, Akira? It's not the new console on the rack, is it?"

"Sort of," Akira tilted his head towards the living room. "Kogo, could you grab the box for Ryuji?"

"Yes, Dad," Kogo rose out of her seat, straightened out her shirt and went to fetch the Persona 5 box.

"My word, is that us?" Yusuke was the first to notice the cover as Kogo returned.

"F'r real!?" Ryuji stood and slammed the table, leaning forward to get a closer look. "Holy shit..."

"It's probly just a weird prank," shrugged Futaba. "Someone found a bunch of pictures of us from back then and drew that to freak you guys out.

"If it's a prank, then it's a very thorough one," said Ann as she picked up the box and read the back. "This talks about the Phantom Thieves."

"Wow, that takes me back!" Haru smiled. "It's almost a little sad how no one talks about us anymore after how big we were."

"The Phantom Thieves? I think we just had a class about them a few days ago..." Tora trailed off in thought.

"Oh, so we're just history now?" Futaba sank into her chair slightly. "That's a little disappointing."

"Huh? You guys..?" Kogo's eyes went wide. "Wait, does that mean you were the Phantom Thieves!?"

"F'real!?" Tora shot up as Kogo put two and two together. "That's so cool!"

"You guys haven't told them?" asked Futaba, somewhat puzzled. "If I knew that, I'd have had so many fun stories to tell while you guys had me babysit!"

"It honestly never came up," shrugged Akira. "It's not like we meant to keep them in the dark about it, but we never really found a good time to tell the story."

"Yeah, Ann and I've been really busy with work and keeping up with what's happening now that we haven't had time to look back at those days." said Ryuji.

"Well, who better to learn about the Phantom Thieves from than the Thieves themselves!" chirped Haru.

"Indeed, classes wouldn't have all of the fine details of our craft," stated Yusuke. "For example, did you two know that we literally entered the hearts of our targets?"

"No way!" Tora exclaimed.

"That sounds like a fairy tale," said Kogo, a smidge skeptical. "How would that even work?"

"We all had a magic app that could take us to our targets' hearts," explained Makoto. "All we needed was a name, a place, and what they saw that place as."

"What..?" Tora stared, incredulously. "I don't get it."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo, it took me a while to get it too," said Ryuji, patting his son's back.

"So where'd you get this, Akira?" asked Ann, who was returning the box to Kogo.

"I got it at the school festival last night," Kogo explained. "Some weird guy with crazy eyes and a really long nose in a blue booth called me 'Child of the Trickster' or something and gave it to me. I would've given it to Tora, but I noticed Mom and Dad on the cover and wanted to show them first."

"The updates should probably be done by now," said Akira, gesturing towards the living room. "Why don't we take this to the living room so we can get this started?"

Making their way to the Kurusu family living room, everyone made themselves comfortable and settled in. The living room was fairly large and was furnished with several couches, all placed around a massive TV. In the middle of the room was a modest coffee table, which was a favorite napping spot for the cat that was living with the Kurusus, Morgana.

Sensing movement towards the living room, the black cat had woken up and pounced on Kogo's shoulder as she reached over to grab the controller. "Oh! I'm sorry if we woke you." The girl bowed in apology - at least, as much as she could've with the cat on her shoulder - and recieved a few meows in return.

"Hey Mona, how's it going?" Ryuji laughed as he went to scratch the cat's head. Morgana wasn't very pleased with that, as he jumped away and into Ann's lap with a yowl. "What the- that's just uncalled for!"

"Same old Morgana," Ann scratched his ears. "You never change, huh?"

Akira turned the TV on and took a seat beside his daughter on the center couch. On his other side was Makoto, who began leaning into her husband's chest. "Comfy?" Akira asked, kissing the top of his wife's head and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Of course," Makoto replied, enjoying his presence.

"Okay, I'm going to start it now!" Kogo announced, eager to start. She had the cursor highlighting the game icon, which prominently displayed the Phantom Thieves' logo.

"Ooh, it's our old logo!" Futaba leaned forward. "Seeing that again gives me goosebumps!"

"I was rather proud of it at the time, but it just seems so... amateur now," Yusuke frowned.

"I still like it," exclaimed Haru. "I think you did a great job with it!"

Kogo hit the confirm button on her controller and groaned. The screen had changed to a deep red splash screen, but there was also a progress bar and a timer on the bottom of the screen. "Not another update," she muttered into her hands.

"Hey, at least we can see what everyone looked like when they were younger," said Tora, trying to cheer up his friend. "Look, I think that's my dad over on the left, with the shark teeth!"

"Whoa, you're right, that IS me!" Ryuji exclaimed, getting a closer look at himself. "Oh god, I look like I'm about to mug someone!"

"You? Look at me!" Makoto cried out, freeing herself from Akira's arm and pointing at herself on the screen. "I look like I'm about to tear someone's heart out! Do I really look that terrifying?"

"Mom, you gave me that look when I accidentally knocked over the bike Dad got you for your birthday a few years ago," Kogo shuddered, remembering the thought.

"F'r real?" Tora raised an eyebrow, staring at Kogo.

"I did not!" said Makoto.

"Oh, I remember that day now!" Akira snapped his fingers. "Kogo and I were trying to find a frog that somehow found its way to our garden when she accidentally bumped your bike. You shot her that look and really freaked her out."

"Did I?" Makoto started turning red.

"The poor girl wouldn't come out of her room until it was time for school," mused Akira.

"Aww, I'm so sorry!" Makoto reached over Akira to give her daughter a hug.

"It's okay Mom, that was years ago," Kogo returned the hug and pointed at the giant, cartoony figure on the far left. "So what's that?" Morgana loudly meowed in response. "Is... is that Morgana!?"

"That's right," said Makoto. "That's what he looked like when he fought alongside us."

"I still can't believe that you guys' cat was in on all of that!" exclaimed Tora. "Mom, is that you over there, next to Uncle Akira?"

"You found me!" laughed Ann. "I think it suits me, don't you, Ryuji?"

"Yeah, I think it fits," Ryuji nodded. " You weren't nearly as terrifying as Makoto, or as dashing as Haru," he said, pointing at his fluffy haired friend's image in the lower left corner of the screen.

"I look so cool!" said Haru, stars in her eyes. "Like a real hero of justice!" She looked towards the center of the screen. "Oh! Yusuke, you look cool too!"

"Hmm?" Yusuke hadn't been listening to his friends, as he was taking in the screen's aesthetics. "I'm sorry, I did not hear you, I was contemplating the design of this image. This shade of red screams anger, and the lettering at the top suggests disorder and chaos, yet I feel that it captures the spirit of our youthful rebellion well."

"Yeah, yeah, that's cool and all, Inari, but it's a little hard to take you seriously when you're imitating your pose on screen," giggled Futaba. Everyone looked at the slender man at this to confirm the orange haired woman's jab, erupting into laughter.

"I am not!" Yusuke pulled his hand down quickly, turning slightly pink. "And just what are you doing back there?"

"Dunno, but I look cool, don't I?" bragged Futaba.

"Not as cool as my dad!" Kogo eagerly pointed at the suave and confident image of her father. "You look so cool and in control!"

"Heh, when you're the leader, it pays to be two steps ahead," smirked Akira, subconsciously wearing the same grin as his youthful doppelganger.

"You were the leader!?" exclaimed Tora in shock. "Dad, why weren't you the leader!?"

"I'm no good at the leader thing," Ryuji explained. "I was more muscle than brain, but Akira had it all together and we all just sorta agreed to let him be in charge."

"Come on, Tora, you've met my dad!" Kogo playfully punched him in the shoulder. "There's no way he wouldn't be the leader!"

"I guess... So who's that in the middle?" Tora pointed at the last face on the screen.

"That's Akechi," frowned Akira. "As I'm sure you can tell, he's not really one of us." He shrugged.

"What happened to him?" asked Kogo. She saw that the installation was nearly complete, so she grabbed the controller in preparation.

"Why don't you let the game explain?" said Makoto. "We have a long way to go before we get to that part of the story."

"If you say so," said Kogo. "Okay, it's starting!" Everyone's attention turned to the screen as the opening movie played. The red skies were captivating, but their attention was grabbed by rising gray monoliths as a figure leapt from one to another. The camera panned to a bridge, as another figure quickly descended from above.

"Hey, I think that was me!" exclaimed Ann. "It looked like my old costume!" The camera panned again to a billboard with a familiar face perched atop it.

"Hey Fox, lookin' good up there!" laughed Ryuji, as the slender figure jumped from his perch. Again, Yusuke was hardly paying attention to his friends, as he was absorbing the visuals. The camera panned again, showing a subway bridge, as a blonde figure wearing a skull mask jumped across the screen. "Ooh, I don't look too bad myself!" The camera panned to the top of the train, as a figure clad in black landed on top. The train kept moving away from the camera, taking the figure with it, but the camera cut to the figure, now clearly identifiable as Akira, removing his mask with a flourish.

"Dad, you look so cool!" shouted Kogo as the animated version of his father leapt from the train and spun as he fell to the Shibuya Scramble Crossing.

"Well, I try my best," smirked Akira. He watched as his image exploded as it hit the ground, transforming into his original Persona, Arsene.

"Whoa, it's your Persona!" Ryuji pointed.

"What's a Persona?" asked Tora.

"Don't worry, you'll probably find out soon enough," said Ann as the screen showed Akira, now in the Shujin uniform, figure skating on a highway.

"Can you do that too?" asked a bemused Makoto.

"What, pirouette on tar?" The pair laughed as a teenage Ryuji began grinding on a railing, wailing on an air guitar.

"Dad, that looks so lame!" groaned Tora.

"What was that?" said a slightly annoyed Ryuji. "You don't think the rail grind looked cool?"

"No not that, the air guitar! No one does that anymore!" Tora's face was buried in his hands.

"He's gotcha there," said Futaba, flatly.

"Oh shut up!" shouted Ryuji as Yusuke appeared on screen to gracefully adorn an alleyway with careful brush strokes.

"Ah, I had no idea anyone knew of that," muttered Yusuke as Ann raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, you paint like that?" asked Ann, incredulously.

"In that very alleyway, no less!"

"That's weird, Uncle Yusuke," said Kogo as she watched Ann spin in place for a few seconds before the screen cut again, showing the cat on Ann's lap walking diagonally across, before turning around and becoming the large-headed figure from the splash screen. Morgana meowed loudly at the sight of himself. Kogo thought there was a bit of a longing quality to that sigh.

"He's really excited to see himself like that again," explained Makoto.

"You can understand him, Mom!?" asked Kogo.

"Of course, how else could we work with him?" laughed Makoto. The image of Morgana zoomed out to reveal that there were several little Morganas displayed across several monitors, with a slender set of fingers typing away at a keyboard at their base. The screen changed to show the view from the monitors; Futaba front and center wth a determined look on her face, Makoto on the right, holding a textbook and pencil with a stern glare, and Haru on the left, idly snacking on sweets with a look of indifference.

"Do I really look like that when I'm working?" asked Futaba, taken aback.

"No, you're never that serious," said Makoto as she contemplated her own image. "I seem a bit weird too, don't I? I don't think I would've been doing homework while doing Phantom Thieves work..."

"You have though," said Haru. "Remember the time you brought a flashlight and a big study guide to Mementos?"

"Haru, that was almost every trip to Mementos," laughed Akira, feeling his wife shrink away slightly. "I don't remember you looking like such an ice queen though, or having such a sweet tooth."

"Yeah, with all of the veggies and coffee you grow, I didn't think you really cared for sweets," said Kogo.

"Well, I do enjoy a nice fluffy cake every now and again, but that doesn't really look like me at all," Haru trailed off as the action followed Futaba's finger pressing downwards on a key. The view was now of a prison cell, with twin wardens and a man with a long nose and crazy-looking eyes.

"That's him! That's the man who gave me the game!" pointed Kogo, recognizing the odd apperance of her benefactor.

"He's a pretty cool guy, if a bit weird," said Akira. "He helped me out a lot during that year."

"Wait, but I thought-" started Makoto before her husband cut her off.

"Hey, don't ruin the surprise!" he chided as he, Yusuke, Ann, and Ryuji, with Morgana in his hands, figure skated their way across the screen. "Besides, even with his circumstances, he still did manage to help a lot."

"Oh, alright, whatever you say," Makoto said, watching Ryuji spin around with the cat before chucking him into a billboard with the Persona 5 logo emblazoned on it.

"Hey, cut it out!" exclaimed Ryuji as he deftly dodged a scratch from Morgana, who wasn't happy about seeing himself get thrown away. "It wasn't me!"

"Teehee, Morgana really doesn't like you, Uncle Ryuji," giggled Kogo as the opening movie finished playing. "Wait, was that it? Why weren't you in it more, mom?" asked a confused Kogo.

"I... have no idea," Makoto was thinking. "Haru, Futaba and I all were barely a part of that, now that I think of it," she said, sounding a little dejected. The title screen appeared now, playing a fast, jazzy tune while showing a group of 8 masked figures standing on a subway platform, and Morgana, perched atop of a subway message ticker. Makoto quickly spotted her silhouette, identifying her old iron mask. "At least we're all here on the title screen."

"This use of color is magnificent!" proclaimed Yusuke. "The dark and limited palette evokes a feeling of confinement, yet our silhouettes matching with the accent colors serves to mask our appearance! Truly, a wonderful design!"

"It does look really cool!" said Tora. "Come on, start the game!"

"Okay, okay," said Kogo, as she pressed the X button on her controller. The screen shifted to a lower perspective, from the feet of the figure wearing what looked to be a cat mask. "Whoa, now that's cool!" She moved the cursor from LOAD GAME up to NEW GAME, watching the camera pan to the sign on the middle of the platform, adorned with the words NEW GAME in a stylized graffiti-esque font. "And that's cooler!"

"Wow, this is like, the coolest game I've ever seen!" exclaimed Futaba. "It looks so sleek!"

"Haha, you know it's gonna be good if Futaba's impressed," laughed Ann. "Come on, start the game already!"

"Can't a girl enjoy the music?" Kogo playfully chided. "Alright, let's go!" she said, starting the game.


End file.
